Flaps are a component of an aircraft's wing that extend and retract from the wing, as required by the pilot of an aircraft during aircraft operations. When additional lift is desired, the pilot will extend the flaps, thereby increasing the chord length and camber of the wing and, as a result, increasing wing's ability to generate lift. This is usually desirable only during take offs and landings. Once the aircraft is in flight, the pilot's goal is to reduce drag. Accordingly, after take off, the flaps are typically retracted into the wing to remove them from the airstream flowing past the wing.
To move between a retracted and a deployed position, the flaps are equipped with roller assemblies that enable the flap to translate with respect to the wing. The roller assemblies are configured to roll in flap tracks that are secured to the wings and that provide the roller assemblies with a pathway which, in turn, controls the movement of the flaps with respect to the wing. The roller assemblies are secured to the flaps using a flap fitting. From time to time, a roller assembly will require either service or replacement or both. This, in turn, requires that the roller assembly be removed from the flap fitting.
Removing a roller assembly from a flap fitting has historically been a very time consuming and labor intensive activity. Conventional roller assemblies and flap fittings are designed such that, in order to remove the roller assembly from the flap fitting, the roller assembly has to translate out of the flap fitting in a direction towards the flap track. This is due to their construction. A conventional roller assembly includes a generally cylindrical shaft and a roller portion that is rotatably mounted to the shaft at or near one end of the shaft. The other end of the shaft is conventionally inserted into an opening in the flap fitting and supports the roller portion in a cantilever manner. The shaft and the opening in the fitting are typically dimensioned so as to have substantially the same diameter so as to minimize any rocking motion of the shaft that might result as the flaps are extended and retracted. Conventionally, the roller portion has a larger diameter than the shaft. The larger diameter of the roller portion obstructs translating movement of the roller assembly through the opening in the flap fitting, leading to the result that a conventional roller assembly can only be removed by translating the roller assembly out of the opening in the fitting in a direction towards the flap track.
Because the flap track obstructs such translating movement, the flaps are typically removed from the wing in order to remove the roller assemblies. Removal of the flaps from the wing can trigger additional rigging/inspection requirements when the flaps are reinstalled. These additional rigging/inspection requirements can add to the down-time experienced by an aircraft when a roller assembly needs to be serviced. Because of the labor requirements and the added rigging/inspection requirements, anytime that the flap is removed from the wing to replace a single roller assembly, maintenance crews will typically replace all roller assemblies so as to avoid the need to frequently remove, reinstall, and then recertify the flaps. As a result, roller assemblies are replaced when replacement is not necessary, leading to waste and added expense.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a roller arrangement that permits easy removal and replacement of the roller assemblies. In addition, it is desirable to provide a method that facilitates removal of the roller assembly from the flap fitting. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.